Search - Alison Moyet :: Voice

If Only Fools Are Kind, Ask a Fool for This CD!

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 03/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Voice" is an excellent set with Alison Moyet's strong & expressive vocals exploding on a collection of familiar tunes that are polished by her treatment. "Windmills of Your Mind" was the song around which she built the project. Long one of her and her mama's favorites, Alison hugs the melody like a fond embrace. The Michel Legrand melody with Marilyn & Alan Bergman lyrics merits classic status, "Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel, never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel, like a snowball down a mountain or a carnival balloon..." It's a gorgeous track, a fine beginning. For many years, Liza with a Z had my heart on the Gershwin classic "The Man I Love." In the liner notes, Alison recounts how her search for material was through sheet music rather than recordings so as not to be influenced by other singers' interpretations. On this track she knew only the first two lines & fills the deep emotions with Derek Watkins' fine horn aching dreamily. Moyet is a major Elvis Costello fan. "Almost Blue" is a melody whose glow grows with repeated listenings while on Costello's Burt Bacharach collaboration, "God Give Me Strength," she brings new shadings and a sense of quiet strength & resolve. "Cry Me A River" has been recorded by artists as diverse as Joe Cocker, Aerosmith, Joan Baez, Jeff Beck & Ray Charles. Its amazing emotional wallop is sometimes overplayed as if by bad actors in a melodrama. Here, Moyet gives the song a bit of tease and sass in nuance while Julian Jackson's harmonica emphasizes the melody's deep sweet sadness. On the bonus track version Alison takes Bacharach's "Alfie" and lets the melody flow through her with the little trill on "if only fools are kind." All of the tracks here are strong from the French songs to "Bye Bye Blackbird." If I had any constructive criticism, I'd have enjoyed a couple uptempo toe tappers to vary the pace a bit. But Alison does an excellent job on this powerful performance. Enjoy!"

Alison Moyet's VOICE is an incredible instrument

T. Kavanagh | Ireland | 09/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Covers albums can be awkward things but, in the capable hands of Alison Moyet, such a project is born with ease. Never one to rest on her laurels, Moyet (in the company of Oscar-winner, Anne Dudley) elegantly commandeers a stunning breadth of standards and classics without veering into lowest common denominator territory.



Freed from the constraints of songwriting, Alison Moyet uses her instrument, that incredible voice, to delve into the character and spirit of each song. Imbuing each one with her unique character and charm, she manages to make "The Wraggle Taggle Gypsies-O" and "Bye Bye Blackbird" sit comfortably alongside Elvis Costello's "Almost Blue." The songs are set in completely acoustic, orchestral arrangements and the listener needs to remember that this is definitely NOT a pop album. The tempo is muted and the song selection is drawn from opera, pop, folk and jazz. This is music for grown-ups and repeated listening pays dividends.



Highlights - and, boy, there are many! - include the assured jazzy delivery of "The Man I Love" and "Cry Me A River"; the heartbreak of Bacharach/Costello's modern gem, "God Give Me Strength"; the heart-stopping darkness of "Dido's Lament"; and Brel's incredibly beautiful love song, "La Chanson Des Vieux Amants".



Make no mistake, these songs are no longer in the common domain: they are now utterly Alison Moyet's.



"

A special synergy

Willem A. Labuschagne | New Zealand | 01/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those of us who came to know Alison Moyet from CDs like Alf and Hometime had heard only the barest hints of her remarkable voice. The thumping rhythms and sheer complexity of instrumental and vocal backing in her earlier CDs tended to reduce Moyet's voice to a mere strand of the overall tapestry. In Voice, Moyet's voice is the focus and one realises for the first time quite how supple it is, how unique its timbre, how accomplished her breath control.



Alison teams up with another gifted musician, Ann Dudley. Remember the quirky soundtrack of the Jeeves and Wooster TV series? That's how Ann Dudley started her career, and she went on to become a very successful composer for Hollywood movies. Now she brings out the best of Alison Moyet's rich, brassy, velvety vocal instrument. Dudley was involved in everything from the selection of songs to the arrangement, conducting and piano accompaniment. The result is spectacular --- Moyet's best CD to date. It which makes one impatient for more.



The songs cover a wide range. There are old favourites like Windmills of My Mind and Elvis Costello's Something Blue, there are songs by classical composers (Bizet and Purcell), and as a special treat there is a classic French chanson. Sacre bleu, doesn't Jacques Brel suit Alison Moyet and vice versa too! Surely Alison MUST be thinking of a French CD, collecting together classics by Brel, Brassens, and Serge Gainsbourg? And with Ann Dudley orchestrating things in the background, please (never change a winning game!). In case it's not already evident, let me say it clearly --- if I could own just one Moyet CD, I would want it to be Voice."